


All That Glitters is Not Gold

by Jakaboi



Series: Protection Verse [2]
Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Emotional Hurt, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Origins fic, Protection Verse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-13
Updated: 2018-04-16
Packaged: 2019-04-22 08:57:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 3,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14305239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jakaboi/pseuds/Jakaboi
Summary: Silver Shepherd is more than he seems - Protection Verse Silver Shepherd origins





	1. Chapter 1

The Host foresees his arrival and insists that Wilford and Bim are with him when the poor thing is due to arrive. He doesn’t know the details, just the time and place.

The stranger is snarling and, for lack of a better term, seemingly feral. When he lands, he’s covered in deep scratches, and his arm hangs in a way that suggests something more is wrong beyond the immediately evident.

Whenever they try to come near, he just finds another way to get away from them and they soon realise, he isn’t attacking them, he’s running away. So they decide to try and corner him.

Wilford is the one who manages to trap him, and as Bim and the Host join him they can see him properly. His smart shirt is torn and his smart trousers are missing a leg; there’s a fairly bad injury on his exposed shin. As they draw closer, he reaches to hold his arm, the one they suspect is badly injured and glares at them, giving a low growl.

Then something shifts, the Host feels it, and the fear is gone replaced by confusion as he shuffles back some more.

“Will?”

The Host can just feel this is going to get worse before it gets better and signals to Bim. The TV show host raises his hand that glows purple as he guides the poor thing to sleep with extreme encouragement.

Wilford carries him as they use the pink man’s void to return to the building, the Host confused by the fact that this stranger seems to have recognised one of them. Given the highly anxious state that the man was in when he was knocked out, any foray into his mind would be hard to traverse. Better to wait until he wakes up and can comply.

Despite being a fully grown man, just like the rest of them, he almost seems like a child in Wilford’s arms. They bring him to the clinic, allowing him to rest in a bed there for a short while. It’s almost an hour before he stirs, the Host using his narrations when he feels the poor man’s panic begin to rise.

“ _As you gaze at the strangeness that surrounds you, you come to realise that you are in no danger. You feel safe and secure in the knowledge that they cannot harm you here. And when you look at your hands you notice-_ ”

The Host stops as he knows what he’s about to narrate, immediately reaching for the stranger’s shoulder, using his powers to look inside his mind.

He sees everything, where he came from, what he’s been through, who he is and the Host stumbles back in shock. Yelling for the doctor he instructs him to fetch Dark immediately

A panicked hand grabs his sleeve; the man’s, and he looks up at the Host in shock, demanding answers. The Host merely grabs the stranger’s hands and holds them in front of his face telling him to look. Look at your hands. Look at yourself. Look!

His eyes go wide as he sees them, as though he’s seeing them for the first time, turning them over and over in astonishment, wincing when it pulls at his shoulder. He demands to know where he is. What’s happening? Who are they?

That’s when Dark shows up, his presence commanding the attention of everyone in the room, the color draining around him, the ringing sounding high-pitched and piercing. The stranger is afraid and tries to get off the bed, but Bim, who’s moved to stand beside the bed, holds him down.

The stranger, the Host tells them, is Dark, from another reality.


	2. Chapter 2

All he wants is to tear something apart. To let himself loose and hurt something; to make something pay as much as he feels he is.

Another reality, another him, while he looks practically human. There’s color to his skin, his eyes are brown. All those times he and…. All those times they’d dreamed of him maybe having color and now it was the one thing keeping him from home. His greyness and distortion had been reality trying to reject him but now he’s stable. There’s no way home. No one has said it but no one has to. He’s no fool.

Dark, Will, and the Host are having an emergency meeting elsewhere while Bim sits with him. Just to watch him, make sure he doesn’t leave but Bim’s curiosity is slowly eating away at him and he eventually asks how this new Dark recognised Wilford.

He explains how he’s not all that he appears. How he met these two humans. A smiling man and a nervous lady. There was a war, and it caught up to them. The man was taken away and the lady was shot and left for dead. As she lay dying, he had joined with her soul, so they/he (new Dark) could go after the smiling man and save him.

But he was too late. When he found the smiling man, he was long broken, no longer a man, but a weapon, a berserker soldier, made to decimate the battlefield when the battle was all but lost. His name was Will and over the years he had become like a father figure to him. Always there when he was needed. But then Will started disappearing and he worried that one day, Will wouldn’t come back. He hasn’t seen Will in a very long time.

When Dark, the Host, and Wilford return, they all look solemn and Dark is the one who delivers the news. This world is dangerous for this new Dark. He is to remain in the building, but no one else can know who he really is. No one else can know where he comes from. They will keep half a mind on getting him home, but for the foreseeable future, this is his home now.

He breaks down in tears.


	3. Chapter 3

It turns out his shoulder blade is fractured and his shin is at risk of infection. They insist he stays in the clinic until he heals….and then they leave. He doesn’t know how long he’s in there, seemingly sharing Dark’s aversion to typical sleeping habits, though he’s laid down, staring into space almost the entire time. He has never felt so alone.

He has no visitors, save for the doctor who seems to purposefully avoid looking at him whenever he swings by. All he has is the time for it to sink in that he’s never going to get home.

It takes a few days, the doctor noting some kind of mildly accelerated healing, before anyone comes to see him. Bim tells him that he can leave the clinic now, that he can have his own rooms and beyond this he’s free to do whatever he wants to do. The guy seems genuine and kind but this just seems like he’s being brushed aside. Though he says nothing out loud, he guesses he’s not going to see any of them ever again.

The room is simple. There’s a bed, a couple book cases but beyond that there’s nothing. He just lays on the bed and does nothing for a few days. He doesn’t want to do anything, doesn’t feel like he can. Bim comes back four days after, seemingly upset. Apparently Bim has tickets for something and wonders if maybe he wants to go. He turns the offer down but Bim doesn’t take it.

“You can stay here and be a miserable Murray or you can suck it up and come and have some fun.”

So he goes. It’s some kind of show and he doesn’t really follow it, instead looking at all the people around them. Back home, he’s grey, he could never do something like this because everyone would be staring, pointing, maybe a person or two might try and attack him, but here he’s normal.

He’s actually smiling as they head back to the building and Bim is babbling about all his favorite parts of what they’ve just seen. Maybe it isn’t so bad here after all.

“Does this world have hair dye?” he asks and Bim looks at him in shock, as though he wasn’t expecting those words to come out his mouth.

On the way home they call in somewhere and though Bim tries his best to make suggestions as to colors to go for, he knows exactly what color he wants. When he picks it out, Bim gives him this strange look as though he isn’t sure, but he insists. So Bim buys it for him, insisting that if he doesn’t like it, Bim refuses to be held responsible.

Bim waits outside the bathroom continuing to talk about his favorite parts of the show, talking about the swelling music and the performances and just gushing about how much of a good time he’s had. Every once in a while Bim will pause, and he’ll respond with a generic response, a little more focused on the scissors in his hand as he cuts the longer sides of his hair, and works the dye into the top, but not wanting to discourage Bim’s obvious passion.

It’s a long while before he comes out the bathroom, and he’s smiling wide. Bim tilts his head in curiosity and admits that he had his doubts but it’s undeniable. The red suits him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Silver joined the egos before Bing which is why he isn't listed in the introductions. Google’s upgrade is after Bing joins the building, so there’s only one droid.

Nobody could tell you when he started going by Tobias, Tobi for short. It just kind of started. A lot of things started after he dyed his hair. Tobi started venturing out into the building, introducing himself to the others, though of course keeping his true identity hidden. He started leaving the building on his own, just wandering round enjoying being able to pass as human for the first time.

Tobi….yeah it’ll take a while for him to get used to that… Tobi does his best to avoid Dark and Wilford. That way too much confusion and painful reminders lie. But still he meets King of the Squirrels who’s pretty chill, if a bit….squirrel mad. Then the Jims, though they’re a bit high energy for Tobi to interact with everyday. Ed Edgar is just plain fascinating, and Tobi delights in aggravating him with logical arguments against selling people. Google is strangely intimidating and Tobi does what he can to be as not bothersome as possible.

Bim is still his favorite person though, and Tobi goes with him to a whole bunch of shows and concerts. It takes him a while to understand the appeal, but after listening to a couple soundtracks, seeing a few live performances, and one time he manages to convince Bim to perform ‘As Long As You’re Mine’, Tobi loves it just as much as Bim does…well, almost. Bim just has a big love for the theater.

He meets Roxy while at some kind of local community centre. Having little to do in the ego’s building, he wants to pick up some hobbies and has already given up on more hobbies than he ever dreamt of trying. She’s there when he’s trying to find something new and tries to entice him into dancing and, desperate for more human contact, he kind of falls for her shtick and joins. There’s a lot of passion and flirting and Tobi honestly feels alive.

As they’re leaving, Roxy writes her number into his phone saying something about dancing tips but there’s a smirk on her lips and a wink as she leaves. Tobi wonders what the hell happened just there but there’s this feeling, kind of low in his gut and he follows after her.

He follows her, discreet as he can manage, and it’s a few streets over that someone attacks her. Within seconds, Tobi is pulling them away, throwing himself into the fight as he refuses to let her get hurt. When the attacker leaves, when they’re both sure they’re safe, Roxy kisses him and it’s the first real contact he’s had in this world and he kind of loses himself in it. She calls him her hero, and he walks her the rest of the way home. She kisses him again and the two of them are now apparently a thing.

Of course he tells Bim the whole story and they find a few colorful bruises from the fight starting to come through. Bim makes a throwaway comment that maybe he should become a superhero.

Tobi just dismisses him though, calling it a silly idea, though he can’t deny how much of it lines up quite nicely. He’s not human, or even of this world, he has a secret identity, he apparently has this hot-ass girlfriend now, and he has always wanted to protect the people he cares about.

Days pass, and Dark approaches. Apparently he’s heard that Tobi is considering becoming a superhero and he’s smirking as he offers a costume. It’s embarrassing. It’s grey and black and Tobi knows, he  _knows_ , that this is meant to demean him. It’s meant to make him feel like he will never not be grey. Dark’s smirk, the fact that superhero costumes are supposed to be colorful, the fact that the costume covers up his hair. This is just a way for Dark to feel better about himself, to not feel left behind by his alternate self, to level the playing field between them.

Tobi flips him the bird and tells him to fuck off. Dark leaves, and leaves the costume behind.


	5. Chapter 5

Bim tries to make Tobi feel better about but Tobi really doesn’t want to hear about it. He’s stuffed the costume where he doesn’t have to think about it. Where no one can come across it by accident. It’s not Bim’s fault, he insists, that Dark is being an ass.

They’ve gone to see another show, and on their way out, as they’re talking about their favorite parts, they both hear a scream. Tobi’s running towards it before Bim can hope to try and stop him, having to run after him.

The person who screamed is on the ground while Tobi is struggling with the attacker. Bim rushes to the victim, helping them up and telling them to run. When the attacker makes a break for it as well, Tobi turns, his hand clutching his side. Apparently there was a knife, and he’d really like to go home now. Bim calls him an idiot as he makes the executive decision to whisk them home with his magic. Straight to the clinic.

The injury is fairly minor, barely even a flesh wound and Dr Iplier patches Tobi up, suggesting that he not throw himself onto any more knives. Bim just glares at Tobi over the Doc’s shoulder.

When the doctor’s gone, the two of them have a heated discussion over the difference between being reckless and being protective. Once or twice Bim says that something really bad could have happened and Tobi reminds him that nothing actually did happen except the helping of a stranger. It goes back and forth until Bim just snaps that Tobi should just admit he would make an amazing superhero. That way, when he rushes headfirst into dangerous situations like that without thinking, it’ll be his job and won’t leave his friends worried for his safety. 

Tobi puts his shirt back on and admits that he’s thought about it, that he even has a costume, which of course Bim insists on seeing. So Tobi brings it out and shows him. It would hide his identity more than enough but it’s  _grey_. Tobi admits that he wants to help people, that he really doesn’t want anyone to get hurt because he does nothing, but he doesn’t know that he can handle being a superhero if it means purposefully making himself grey again.

“It’s not grey.” Bim says and Tobi just stares at him because they both know its grey. Bim shakes his head and points at the costume, a slight smirk on his lips as presents an alternate truth. “It’s silver.”


	6. Chapter 6

The first month or so, Tobi puts on the costume every night and goes patrolling. It helps that he doesn’t really do a lot of sleeping, meaning he can patrol most of the night, rolling in around 4 or 5am. He still hates the costume and will peel it off and dump it when he gets in, but his superhero name helps.

Silver Shepherd.

Honestly the shepherd is just because of the alliteration, but it works and after a while, and several instances of protecting people, it’s kind of fulfilling to hear people declare his name when he shows up.

It’s mostly small time stuff, a mugging here, helping a drunkard home there, and you know it starts to occur to him the amount of times Roxy seems to get herself into trouble. Most weeks he’s stopping her from getting mugged, or attacked or something like that. Still he’s not going to not save her just cause she’s often in trouble.

Of course he hasn’t told her about his secret life, but he still goes dancing with her, and they’ve even been on a couple dates. He gets the idea to take her to a nearby carnival and they have a great time. Even though they are essentially dating, and he knows this, it just doesn’t feel real to him. It’s all a part of his persona. Still he plays his part well and she seems happy. She kisses him often.

The whole building knows of his exploits, after one or two times he’s come home beaten to a bloody pulp, but it’s only helped him. They seem less standoffish now, and he finds them to be more approachable. Some of the others have started calling him Silver and he likes that too. And when Bing moves in and starts to gush over the fact that Tobi’s a superhero, it feels like his little life is almost complete.

He still can’t approach Wilford, though he finds himself stopping outside the studio more than once, wanting to go in and say hi but feeling like that isn’t really his place. It’s not his Will, and there’s already a Dark in his life. So he just walks away. And Dark still refuses to interact with him, but you know what, he hates Dark as well, so whatever.


	7. Chapter 7

Bim and Silver have seen multiple shows over the years, with all manners of songs and stories attached to them. They’ve both enjoyed them, and shared a lot of time hanging out now. But maybe…maybe going to see the Greatest Showman together is a bad idea.

They’ve both seen it multiple times before now, but their schedules just never synced up for them to make the outing happen together. So they’re both pumped when they finally make it happen, excited for the visuals and the music and having a great time, just as they always do.

It’s barely into the film at all, as the song [A Million Dreams](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DpSQk-4fddDI&t=ZjYzY2IyYzVlM2UyOWU2YTBmYTE0YTMyYjhkNzI3M2IwZDc0N2E5Nix6bHdQbHpveA%3D%3D&b=t%3AFBn29eQKfbXEPe23E7WqNQ&p=https%3A%2F%2Fsilverdxrk.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F172937976137%2Fall-that-glitters-is-not-gold-pt-7&m=1) starts up, that Tobi just happens to glance over at Bim, knowing it’s his friend’s favorite song (because of course they’ve listened to the soundtrack a few hundred times together). And seeing the exuberant joy on his friend’s face, he finds himself smiling in a way he hasn’t in a long time. He catches himself and stops to push the feeling down, stomping on it and trying his best to bury himself in the story.

Then later comes, [Come Alive](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DBURBlSYPmBU&t=ODdkMmRmNDIxNjgxOWJkZTgzODdlMzU2ZjI1NzhkNTQ5NzY5ZGRjNix6bHdQbHpveA%3D%3D&b=t%3AFBn29eQKfbXEPe23E7WqNQ&p=https%3A%2F%2Fsilverdxrk.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F172937976137%2Fall-that-glitters-is-not-gold-pt-7&m=1). With it’s rousing message of inspiration, of making life into what you want and he catches Bim smiling again and Silver’s heart soars. Then it sinks as he realises what it means.

The rest of the film passes in a daze as he refuses to let anything show that might ruin the outing. They’ve waited so long to see the film together, he won’t be the reason it’s ruined. They sing together as they make their way home and are just talking and Bim insists they do something but Silver can’t. He just wants to curl up and pretend he’s dead. So he makes his excuses; oh he’s tired, long day of superheroing tomorrow.

When he’s in his room, the door is slammed a little too hard behind him and he just sits on the floor leaning against it. This isn’t supposed to happen. He isn’t supposed to like someone in this world. He’s supposed to be trying to get home where he  ~~knows~~  hopes Marvin might still be waiting for him to return.

Except it’s been years. Marvin probably thinks he’s dead. He’s probably moved on and found happiness with someone else. Someone safe. Someone sane. Someone normal. Tobi breaks down. It’s been a long time since he thought about Marvin and it tears at him to remember.

The next night, Tobi turns up on Roxy’s doorstep with flowers and champagne and for the first time  _he_  kisses  _her._  It’s passionate and she squeals and they go dancing and for all the world it’s like they’re the happiest couple in existence, because it’s so much easier for Silver to bury himself in his fake relationship than to admit to himself that he’s accepted that he’s never going to see Marvin again, and that he maybe kind of likes his best friend more than he should.

_Silver’s story continues in the ongoing plotline of Not As You Know Them_


End file.
